U.S., Russia To Hold Discussions On START Nuclear Arms Treaty

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The United States and Russia plan to soon start discussions at the expert level on a nuclear arms-reduction treaty signed in 2010, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said, RFE/RL reports.

Ryabkov told Russian news agencies in Helsinki, Finland, after meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Shannon that the two were in agreement that the treaty should be implemented without exception.

The New START treaty foresees the reduction of both countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,550 warheads and 800 launch systems.

It is one of the few nuclear agreements still being honored amid the current strained relations between Washington and Moscow.

The United States has accused Russia of violating the INF treaty, which forbids the use of short- and middle-range missiles, while Moscow said it was abandoning a treaty to destroy weapon-grade plutonium, claiming Washington did not fulfill its side of the agreement.

Ryabkov also said after meeting with Shannon that he did not see any possibility of Russia getting back its shuttered consulate-general in San Francisco and two other trade missions in the United States.